Game apparatus



Dec. 4, 1956 G. F. WALES 2,772,335

GAME APPARATUS Filed Dec. 15, 1952 Lib INVENTOR. Georse w les BY a ar-neg.

the character described may be played.

United States PatentO The present invention relates to games and more particularly to a game that may be played on a gameboard by movement of gamepieces from one space to another of the board. i

The basic purpose of the present invention is to provide a game that may be played with gamepieces on agameboard and that will combine certain features of chance with opportunity for exercise by the players of intelligence and astuteness. w

A concomitant object of the invention is to provide a game of the character described which will afford entertainment and enjoyment and which will hold the attention of the players throughout the whole period of play. 7

Another object of the invention is to providea game of the character described in which the starting positions of the gamepieces are determined by chance.

A further object of the invention is to provide a game or the character described in which the gamepieces of the several players are distributed by chance over a common starting area but inwhich the different players have different goals to which to move their respective pieces. 1 'Another objectof the invention is to provide a game of the character described in which the starting positions of the gamepieces of the several players are determined in part by the location of spaces alloted to the different players in the common starting area.

Another object or" the invention is to provide a game 7 of the character described in which the gamepieces may be moved either from one space to an adjacent space or by jumping as in-a game of checkers. p i

A still further object of the invention is to provide a game of the character described which may be played by a single player as a game of solitaire or by as .many as four players. p j l w Another objectof the'inventionis to provide a gameboard on which several different variations 0 a game of Still another object ofthe invention is. to providea game of the character described in which "the gamepieces may represent cowboys and which will 'havethe tang of the old West. j

Other objects of the invention will be apparent hereinafter from the description, when readin conjunction with the drawing, and from the recital of the appended claim.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan viewofi a gameboa rd constructed according to one embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the movable gamep'ieces used in playing the game; and

p Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of pieces of imitation moneywhich may be. usedin settling accounts. at'Tthe endofagame. I .1 1. ,In the drawing the gameboard is'designated/gener'ally aty20. .It has anovel playing area'layout which is in the shape of a square and contains a number of equispaced circles 25 of unitorm diameter. The gameboard shown has a playing area twelve circles wide and twelve circles long. It is divided into four sections denoted 21,

22-, 23, and 24, respectively, each in the form of asquare,

2,772,885 Patented Dec. 4,, 1956 ice six circles wide and six circles long. Each sectionadjoins two other sections along two sides.

In each section there are two groups of circles, each arranged in the form of an isosceles triangle and comprising ten circles numbered, respectively, 1 to 10. One of the triangular groups of circles of each section is at the inside corner of the section and may be known as the center range. The other triangular group of circles of each section is at the diagonally opposite outside corner of the section and may be called the outer range. The inside triangular groups of circles of the several sections 21, '22, '23, 24 are denoted, respectively, at 21a, 22a,23a, and 24a. The outside triangular groups of circlesof the several sections are denoted, respectively, at 21b,.22b, 23b, and 24b. The inside'triangular group of "circles" of each section adjoins along its two equal sides equal sides of the inside isosceles triangular groups of the two adjacent sections. Thus, the circles numbered 1,3, 6 and .10 forming one side of each inside triangular group. 21a,

22a, 23a or 24a, adjoin the circles 1, 2, 4, 7 forming one several sections 21, 22, -23, 24 form the four corners of the playing area. 7 The two triangular groups of circles at theinside and outside corners of a section have acommon designating insignia which distinguishes them from the triangular groups of circles of the other sections. Thus,-t-heten numbered circles in the inside corner 21a of section 21, and the ten numbered circles at. the diagonally opposite outside corner 21b of this same section may be colored yellow or may bear yellow'designatingnumbers, but the ten numbered circles in inside triangular area 22d, and the ten numbered circles in the outside triangular area 22b of section 22 may be colored green or bear greendesighating numerals, whil e the ten numbered circles of the twotriangular areas 23a arid 23bof section 23 may be colored red or bear'red designating numerals; and the ten numbered circles of the two triangular areas 24a and 24b of section z may be coloredblack or bear black designating numerals. r Y I Itwill be noted that ineach triangular." group 21a, 21b;

22a,v 22b, 23a, 23b, 24a, 24b the circle numbered 1-is at the apex of the triangle and that the circlesiof each triangle are arranged in fourcoursesor tiers comprising a baseconsisting of four circles numbered 7 to J1Q-in elusive, a second course or tier consisting of three circles numbered 4 to 6 inclusive, a third course or tier consisting of two circles numbered 2 and 3 and a topicourse or tier consisting of the apex circle numbered 1; It' will be noted, therefore, that the two triangular groupsof circles at theopposite corners of a section are in effect reversed, their bases confronting one another andtheir apex circles 1 being disposed remotely from one another.

Between the two triangular groups. of numbered circles in each section 21, 22, 23 and 24, there are three rows of uncolored, unnumbered circles25, designated 26, 27, and 28, respectively, and each consisting of.four circles.

Each. player i provided with tengamepieces similar -to the gamepiece shown at 30 in Fig. 2.. These may repplayer using section 23 has red gamepiecegand the player 7 using section 24 has black gamepieces. The game'piece V 30 shown in Fig. 2 is green and is used by the player playing in section 22 of the board. Itis thev No. 1 playing pieceofthis'player. 1

Various games may be played on the gameboard described.

In playing one game, all the players first place their playing pieces in the center of the board face down. Then all the playing pieces are mixed together. Then each player draws ten pieces, and turning them over one at a time places them successively on the consecutively numbered spaces '1 to of his center range, putting the first piece turned up on the No. 1 spot of his center range, the second piece turned up on the No. 2 spot, etc. Since the ten pieces which a player draws at the beginning of the garner'nay include his opponent, pieces and/or his own, it will .be seen that when the center range of the Several players are occupied by their forty gamepieces, as will bethe case when :four are playing the game, the gamepieces will be Well mixed. Moreover it will be seen that since the draw will be different in each game there are in effect an almost infinite number. of starting positions, which adds materially to the variety and entertainment of the game.

v The object of this game is for each player to get his gamepieces from his center range 21a, 22a, 23a, or 24a, a the case may be, to his outer range 21b, 22b, 23b or 2411. The player who gets all his pieces home first with the pieces arranged in the proper order on his outer range area,.that is his No. 1 piece on the No. 1 circle of the outer range area, etc., wins the game.

The players take turns moving their pieces. .In moving a piece, a player may move horizontally or vertically and on the diagonal in either direction as denoted by lines 35, 36, 37, 38, and either backwards or forward. He may move from one space or circle 25 to an adjacent space or circle 25; and he may jump any other piece including his own in any direction, so' long as a vacant space exists beyond the piece being jumped; and he may jump as many pices as have spaces between and beyond them. A piece is neyerremoved from the board, however, when jumped. A player in any one play can jump as many pieces as it is possible to jump but he, does not have to do so. He can stop jumping at any point if he desire to block an opponent. I

. :As previously stated, theplayer who first gets all his regardless of whether the pieces are his own or an op ponents. Then by moving and jumping the player en 7 other entities'than cowboys, and various other games may be played on the board based on the principles of the.

present invention. While the invention has been described in connection with a specific embodiment, then, it will be understood that it is capable of further modification, and this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features herein-before set forth and as fall 'within the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

A game apparatus comprising 'a gameboard having a generally polygonal playing surface comprising a-central area divided into a plurality of spaces for movement of pieces on thenumbered squares of his outer range in the proper numerical order, 'wins the game. For each piece of an opponent. not in its own outer range area, the winnerscores thesum of the number on the playing piece plus the numeral of the circle on which it'is caught. For-example, if an opponents playing piece No. 8 is caught on the No. 10 circle of the opponents outer range, the 'winner scores eighteen points. A playing piece caught on one of the unnumbered circles is charged ten points plus the number of the piece. The score is settled by payment to the winner of ranch money; The players are supplied -with equal amounts of this money before the start a of the first game. It may come in different denominations I gamepieces, and a plurality of corner areas disposed wholly outside said central area and each divided into a number of spaces for gamepieces, the number of spaces in the several corner areas being equal, said central area being divided into as many sections as'there are corner areas, each section having as many spaces as a corner area, the spaces in each corner area being'triangularly arranged with the space which constitutes the apex of the triangle being disposed in a corner of the playing surface, the spaces in each section also being triangularly arranged, each of the several corner areas bearing diiferent indicia differing from the indicia borne by other corner areas, and each of the several center sections bearing different indicia difiering from the indicia borne 'by the other center sections, but the indicia of the difierent center sections being the same as, respectively, the

triangle, in which the spaces of a center section are arranged, being inverted with'reference to theltriangle, in which the spaces of the corner area, which bears the same indicia, are arranged, the base of the triangle of each center section being parallel to the base of the triangle of the corner area which bears the same indicia, and the spaces constituting the apices of the two triangles which bear the same indicia'being remote from one another, and a plurality ofv gamepieces for playing a game asthe case may be, and to thenmove his piecesto his center range 21a, 22a, 23a,'or 24a, as the case may be,

eachto itsproper circle in the center range by moving and.

jumping his own-pieces in any direction. 'A player must, however, in moving or jumping, stay within the limits of his own section of the board. The first to get .all hispi'eces'on their proper circles inthe center range wins, and collects as before. This game may *be" played by two, three or fourplayer's, and may even be played solitaire. 1 Athird variation of the game is a combination of the first two'described." The playing pieces of allthe players aregfirst mixed up facedowni Then each player draws ten pieces and turns thernup consecutively, and puts the pieces in the order in which he turns them up onto-the on said gameboard, said gamepieces being dividedv into as many sets as there are corner areas of the gameboard, each set of gamepieces bearing the same indicia but the different sets of gamepieces bearing indicia differing, respectively, from the indicia borne by the other sets of gamepieces, and the indicia of the several sets of game pieces being, respectively, the same as the indicia borne by the several corner areas, respectively.

' References Cited in the fileof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,061,999 Grondahl May 20, 1913 1,204,246 Carter 'Nov. 7, 1916 1,329,355 Andrews Feb. 13, 1920 1,474,504 Allen Nov. 20,- 1923 2,045,339 Boland June 23, 1936 2,187,808 Parker Ian. 23, 1940 2,264,492 Weaver Dec. 2, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 450,231 France Jan. 14, 1913 208,366. Switzerland May 1, 1940 

